For Emirati playwright Saleh Karama Al Ameri, life is a symphony.
“My job is to listen and observe, then to interpret and let my imagination run with the stories,” he says. “I am not society’s conductor, but I want to be the one that listens well and forces others to hear this piece of music.”
Al Ameri has been listening for 15 years, and his views on society have become immortalised in 17 Arabic-language plays examining subjects ranging from human nature and the power of appearances, to the danger of adhering to the status quo and the value of human life.
“I am interested in human nature and I like to think philosophically; that’s how I write,” he says. “The pieces of the plays are all different, but the cornerstone is the human, so the plays are universal.”
Non-Arabic speakers will get a chance to enjoy one of his stories when his sociopolitical drama, Alms for the Poor, has its first staging in English from tonight until Saturday at the National Theatre in Abu Dhabi.
The 2013 drama, produced by Abu Dhabi-based theatre company Beyond the Veil, was written during a particularly prolific time for Al Ameri – it was one of five plays reflecting the societal changes happening in the region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
The idea for Alms for the Poor, Al Ameri explains, first presented itself in a cafe in Morocco in 2007.
“I was sitting in a beautiful, old cafe in Al Jadida, having some tea, when I saw a beggar come by,” he says, “I gave him a bit of money, and he said to me that it was too much. I told him it’s OK, take it, and then I saw him sit at one of the cafe’s tables and try to order a coffee. The waiter refused to serve him and kicked him out, and that just stayed in my head and grew.”
Alms for the Poor is the seventh of Al Ameri's plays to be translated into English. Three of them were directed by Zakaia Cvitanovich, founder of the Beyond the Veil theatre company
Al Ameri says that Cvitanovich is the perfect director to stage his plays in English.
"Zakaia understands me, I always trust my work in her hands," he says, after watching the dress rehearsal for Alms for the Poor last week. "Zakaia has an incredible imagination – it's different. A playwright is always worried. The play is like my child, and I was worried how it will be interpreted, but Zakaia gets me." His worry now is whether the audience will, in turn, understand what he is trying to say.
“When I write, I don’t do it to make my philosophy or message clear and out there. It’s hidden. It needs to be unearthed.”
Westerners, says Al Ameri, seem to appreciate his plays more than Arabs. “I feel like I am only recently becoming appreciated and respected in the Arab world,” he says. “But westerners and Europeans have been interested in my plays for much longer. I don’t know why.”
It’s a pity, he says, because when his plays are read and performed in the Arabic language, they have far more substance.
“The Arabic language is majestic, magical,” he says. “My messages are stronger in Arabic and my first love is theatre in Arabic.”
Al Ameri’s love affair with the theatre began at an early age. He cofounded the Etihad Theatre in Abu Dhabi in 1977 and has done everything from cleaning to working backstage on lighting and sets to acting in plays and directing them.
“It was my life,” he says. “I wasn’t ashamed of doing anything for the theatre. I even sold tickets and gave out pamphlets when we had a performance”.
This month, Al Ameri's plays have been published – in Arabic – in an anthology of his work, The Plays of Saleh Karama, edited by Dr Jawad Al-Assadi. "Jawad is my mentor, my teacher," he says. "He is a director as well, and has taught me so much. He has chosen 13 or 14 of my plays and published them in a book through the publishing house Dar Kanaan." Only 1,000 copies of the anthologies have been printed, and Al Ameri will distribute 200 of those to friends and family. He hopes to promote it at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair next year.
A proud father of eight, Al Ameri is perplexed that none of his children caught the theatre bug. Then again, he understands such passion comes at a price.
“I cannot force this younger generation into a life in the theatre,” he says. “It’s a different world – you need to be ready to sell your soul to be a part of it, you need to be OK with making no money and living poor as I have. But this is what I have always wanted. I am convinced of the importance of it, and I love it.”
• Alms for the Poor will be performed at the National Theatre, 17th Street, Abu Dhabi, from tonight until Saturday. Tickets cost Dh50 for adults and Dh25 for students. For more information email beyondtheveilad@gmail.com
artslife@thenational.ae
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
Watch live
The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
You can find out more here
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Company%20profile
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Series result
1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets
2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets
3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets
4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets
5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
